Month: May 2016

France is world-famous for artisan patisseries and boulangeries, which can be off putting if you can’t tolerate gluten. But luckily there is a fantastic gluten free bakery in the heart of Paris to cater for our needs. All the flours used are naturally gluten free and ground in the chambelland mill, ensuring that they are 100% gluten free and safe for coeliacs.

This vibrant bakery in the centre of Paris is the perfect place for a grab and go lunch/breakfast or a sit down meal. The breads, pastries and cakes are all made using naturally gluten free flours which produce baked goods that can be appreciated by everyone, not just coeliacs and gluten free folk.

That’s what’s so special about Chambellands, it feels like a “normal” busy café in Paris and the bakery is so good that anyone can enjoy it. One of the challenges being gluten free is it can often feel a bit like you’re the odd one out so it’s a rarity to have an exclusively gluten free place that is buzzing with customers.

There’s a set menu for the breakfast and lunch, reasonably priced. So for lunch it’s €12 to eat in and €8 to take away. That includes a sandwich, dessert and drink. When my friend and I went we noticed there was a meat option, fish option and vegetarian option. She had a haddock and cream cheese sandwich and I had an avocado, rocket, blueberry and basil houmous sandwich. I thought this was an interesting mix for the filling which worked really well.

The bread is a great consistency, it’s by far the best gluten free bread I’ve had and I think that’s because it’s not trying to be like “normal” bread, it’s a type of bread in its own right. A lot of gluten free products end up falling to pieces with a crumbly texture because the manufacturers are trying to copy and replace products with gluten rather than being confident enough to start from scratch with a new way of baking gluten free. For dessert my friend had a cheese cake and I had a strawberry tart, both of which were impeccable and delicious. She eats gluten but described the cheese cake as one of the best ones she’s ever eaten.

The staff are lovely, they give really good customer service and manage well with the constant flow of people coming in and out over the lunch period. The décor is homely, I’d describe it as retro cafeteria chic. Chambellands also produces flour to sell, bread to take home, cakes to order for special occasions and some great recipe books focused on gluten free cooking.

This place is quite simply, perfect. It was an absolute pleasure to find somewhere that made me feel just like everyone else enjoying their patisseries and fresh bread in Parisian bakeries. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in Paris.

I just landed in Paris after living out in the tropical paradise of Réunion Island. I met a best friend from childhood, called Scout, who came to meet me here from London and the first thing we did after putting down our rucksacks was pop to the local shops and stock up on food.

The great thing about sharing cooking and meal planning with others is there’s lots to exchange and you both come away with new ideas.

We put our heads together to make this deliciously simple Thai dish.

So you will need:

(These quantities serve about 3 people)

A packet of rice noodles

Grated zest of 1 lime

Grated fresh ginger (about a thumb sized chunk)

Fresh coriander

1 Onion

Crushed garlic

Half a head of Broccoli

1 big pepper

2 carrots

1 finely chopped chilli (if you can handle the heat!)

Coconut milk

Chop the onion into thin slices and start frying it in oil. Put the chilli, ginger and garlic in when the onions are starting to soften. You can add a hint of honey to sweeten it also.

Chuck in the veg, all chopped into thin strips. Once the veg has been stir fried but is still a bit hard, add the coconut milk with the lime zest. Leave it to cook on the hob to simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes.

Cook rice noodles in a seperate pan of boiling water. When ready, drain off the water and mix in with the coconut curry. Add freshly chopped coriander to season.

Easy 🙂

Ps did I mention that we’re staying in an apparment with a terrace overlooking the Eiffel Tower?!